CHAPTER 26

282 ac

POV NED STARK

"Rodrik, you should go and talk to him, sound him out if he would ever consider going to Citadel."

"Yes, but my lord, he is going to ask if he got his gate pass. What should I say about that? "

"If he can beat 15 years old squires, then he can defend himself against bandits and brigands, but he is still too young; tell him I will give him permission to go by himself only when he is ten years old. Until then, he can go out with other hunters and join you when you are going for safe patrols. He can maybe join you when you are going to suppress small bandit groups, but he can only observe and can't join the fray."

"Yes, my lord, I will go and talk to him right away."

"If his answer is negative, bring him here, but if he wants to join the Citadel, come without him and say you couldn't find him yet, I would need to talk to him first. "

"Yes, my lord, I will do it right away."

POV MC

Sometimes it is really fun to play with Stark kids, I have the mind of a 35-year-old, but I can find joy in playing children's games. Maybe it is because of my brain chemistry. It might be because I have the brain of a nine-year-old, and the most tragic thing is I'm 35 years old with a zero-sex drive. One time I was passing by the brothel of Winterfell and saw a topless woman and felt nothing. It was like I was looking at the wall before I died.

I wasn't a horn dog but a healthy man. If I saw a beautiful woman, I wouldn't stare, but I will at most turn and look one more time, but now I don't even realize a woman's beauty if I don't focus. I think this body is the reason I enjoy playing kids' games, I'm not crazy about them like Robb and Jon, but it isn't boring to me. It is a really weird feeling.

I saw Rodrik coming from a distance, and he shouted at me, "Aermir, come here for a second."

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"Ser Rodrik, did you talk with the lord? "

"Yes, and I have an answer for you, but before that, I have to talk to you about something else. Would you ever want to be a maester? "

I never thought about this, but I get a bad vibe about Citadel. I mean, no one exactly knows when The Citadel was established, but it should be at the very least 7 to 8 thousand years old. But since the invention of steel 4 to 6 thousand years ago. There was only one advancement in technology. Myr invented glass, that is all. How could there be no big invention for thousands of years? That is why The Citadel doesn't sit well with me.

" No, I don't want to be a maester. I still have many things to learn in Stark Library, didn't even read one-fourth of the books there. It would take me at least 4 to 8 years to finish it all. I don't need to go to the other side of the continent to learn. "

When I said that, a sudden smile started to creep on his face, and when I finished speaking, he laughed.

"Yes, that is right, you don't need to go all that way to read some books. You can read all the books in the North. Let's go. Lord, is waiting for us."

When we reached lord's solar, he and Maester Luwin were talking about something, and when we entered, they stopped.

"Come in and sit down, Aermir. So, I learned from Maester Luwin you are not only talented in swords, but you are talented at higher learning too. "

"Yes, my lord, I have talent in that area too. "

" So, he wants to make you a proposition. Go ahead, Maester Luwin."

" My boy, you must have understood when I saw you in the library and started giving you tests. I wanted to gauge how much of the things you read you understand. When I saw you understood almost all of it, I was horrified by your talent. We cannot let a mind like yours be a swordsman. You need to be at the Citadel and learn about the world's mysteries; if you come with me to the Citadel, we can unlock all of your potential. "

"Thank you for your generous evaluation of my talent, but I do not want to be a maester. I can achieve the things Citadel offers by myself, so me going there would be a demerit for me."

When I said those words, his face started to go sour, and he said, " My boy did I evaluate you too high, or is this the naiveté of the youth? How can you say going to the greatest place of learning in the known world is a demerit to you."

" Maester Luwin, this might look to you as naiveté of youth, but to me, it makes total sense. Because I don't need teachers to learn things, I want to ask you something, but I want an honest answer. If a new maester and I compare knowledge in history, herbology, and medicine, which of us would have more knowledge? "

When he heard the question, his face became sourer, and he started coughing. He answered me, looking down," the maester would know a little bit more than you."

Maester Luwin is a good man. He is not able to lie without being ashamed. " So, I need to go all that road and spend all that time for that little bit of knowledge. No, thank you! I can get that knowledge while working in the field. "